5G ada tank - algae issues

[XxMalaboo]

hi all,

 

I started a sps tank a couple of months ago - about 5g. I dont feed my tank any food and there is no fish, but i get some type of algae im not able to identify. it might be gha or bryopsis. I tested my water sorce for phosphates using elos and all parameters are 0. I just bought a trochus snail and hes not doing ####ing anything for the tank but raising my ammonia.

 

I just took all my rocks out and mixed them in hydrogen peroxide and then threw them back in the tank. I know it will kill it, but probably killed my bacteria on the rocks as well. The problem is, those algae grows in spots on my sand too. I dont understand how I have algae if I used blue light for 8 hours and dont feed my tank any food.

 

This is so frustrating. Also, I have HOB AC filter with purigen and phosguard.

 

My tank is probably like 4 months old. My sps are pissed off since I put the rock back in without rinsing the hydrogen peroxide off, but im hoping the coat from the rise will kill the peroxide on the sand.

 

Any advice for me? I will try to take a picture of my tank tomorrow. I used red sea salt.

 

Nitrates phosphates nitrites all 0. Ammonia raises to 0.25 maybe?

 

I have 8 SPS Frags in my tank now, which I think are doing ok... They are losing some color IMO. but growing. My water parameters for the most part are stable. Nanobox light at about 50% blue.

No swings in Salinity or PH.

[burtbollinger]

RO/DI water?

 

good pix will help, as bryopsis is a bit harder to deal with than GHA.

 

curious, what white settings on the nanobox?

 

5g SPS at 4 months old....hardcore build, man. Also curious if this isnt a part of a new tank's early lifespan.

[XxMalaboo]

I tested the RO water from my LFS, and the salt I mixed with it in containers. Both contain 0 phosphates as well as the tank water. My settings on the nanobox are 50% blue and 30% Cyan for 8 hours. I took out all the white, purple, and red spectrum. I don't know why SPS is so hard to keep since I have no waste in my tank except for this ####### snail that doesn't do anything.

 

 

The pictures below are the tank after the rocks went through the peroxide dip. I'm assuming I should go buy another bottle of bacteria to seed the tank with because of the dip. I honestly don't know how you get rid of the algae. It grows on the sand and no matter what I do - I can't get rid of it. This hobby is pissing me off. Maybe I should get a bigger tank and restart with a protein skimmer. Can't fit that on my tank. The algae just multiplies if I leave it alone. Pulling it out - a little spec grows into another bunch of them in a week.

 

Let me know of any advice. Maybe I have to buy a crab.

 

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[Everardc]

hi all,

 

I started a sps tank a couple of months ago - about 5g. I dont feed my tank any food and there is no fish, but i get some type of algae im not able to identify. it might be gha or bryopsis. I tested my water sorce for phosphates using elos and all parameters are 0. I just bought a trochus snail and hes not doing ####### anything for the tank but raising my ammonia.

 

I just took all my rocks out and mixed them in hydrogen peroxide and then threw them back in the tank. I know it will kill it, but probably killed my bacteria on the rocks as well. The problem is, those algae grows in spots on my sand too. I dont understand how I have algae if I used blue light for 8 hours and dont feed my tank any food.

 

This is so frustrating. Also, I have HOB AC filter with purigen and phosguard.

 

My tank is probably like 4 months old. My sps are pissed off since I put the rock back in without rinsing the hydrogen peroxide off, but im hoping the coat from the rise will kill the peroxide on the sand.

 

Any advice for me? I will try to take a picture of my tank tomorrow. I used red sea salt.

 

Nitrates phosphates nitrites all 0. Ammonia raises to 0.25 maybe?

 

I have 8 SPS Frags in my tank now, which I think are doing ok... They are losing some color IMO. but growing. My water parameters for the most part are stable. Nanobox light at about 50% blue.

No swings in Salinity or PH.

If a single snail is raising your ammonia, you have an issue.....

 

Did you even cycle the tank?

 

It looks like you put everything in bleach before setting it up, and threw some sps in there..

 

 

 

I tested the RO water from my LFS, and the salt I mixed with it in containers. Both contain 0 phosphates as well as the tank water. My settings on the nanobox are 50% blue and 30% Cyan for 8 hours. I took out all the white, purple, and red spectrum. I don't know why SPS is so hard to keep since I have no waste in my tank except for this ####### snail that doesn't do anything.

 

 

The pictures below are the tank after the rocks went through the peroxide dip. I'm assuming I should go buy another bottle of bacteria to seed the tank with because of the dip. I honestly don't know how you get rid of the algae. It grows on the sand and no matter what I do - I can't get rid of it. This hobby is pissing me off. Maybe I should get a bigger tank and restart with a protein skimmer. Can't fit that on my tank. The algae just multiplies if I leave it alone. Pulling it out - a little spec grows into another bunch of them in a week.

 

Let me know of any advice. Maybe I have to buy a crab.

 

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The way your talking in this post makes me laugh out loud... maybe do some research first BEFORE setting up an aquarium..

I do admire that you went all out and bought some really nice equipment though. I cant even afford a nanobox.

If your tank was 4 months old it would not look that white.

[XxMalaboo]

I did lots of hours of reading. Sorry the frustration was kicking in a little bit. I waited probably around 2 months before putting anything in the tank. I might even think its over 4 months, Maybe at 6. Not trying to lie. Cycle was done after 1 month using dry rock. I also used two different bacteria seeds with the addition of ammonia chloride every other day. I took my time and did this right.

 

It looks white because it's dry rock, and I turned the white light to 60% for pictures.

 

All the corals were dipped, however, as a lesson learned I'm thinking going forward to rinse the base of the frags in hydrogen peroxide before they enter the tank. (Which is where I think the algae came from.)

 

I've seen diatoms for a month, and they went away on their own. Not asking for insults - just for advice.

[Everardc]

Im not trying to insult you at all, Im genuinly a nice person... I just feel as if you rushed even though your saying you didnt. also, big nono to dipping SPS in peroxide..

 

Personally I would buy some live rock and start over. keep you whites at 30 and blues at 60. throw in some food and just test every weekend until its cycled. then add a fish... then the next couple weeks add a FEW corals. then keep adding.

[XxMalaboo]

I dipped the base frags of the SPS corals in peroxide after I saw an abundance of green algae on them. (very careful without getting peroxide on the coral itself) The corals for the most part I think are doing well. Polyps all open, just not as "bright" as when I first bought them. My Calcium is at 400 and my Alk at 8. I use Red Sea Pro Salt which does a pretty good job when I water change once a week.

 

It's the algae I can't seem to get rid of. Little stems pop up in the sand out of no where, as seen in the pictures. Going to test ammonia again, however I'm pretty sure thats not the issue - as most of the time it's 0. Everything has been slow. I maybe added 2 corals at once each week.

 

I'm assuming the algae was brought in from the frag, thats why I peroxide dipped the base after the fact. Lesson learned though.

[thedon986]

Your tank is new and it's not established. You're going to get some funky things growing here and there. I would establish some sort of livestock, I know that sounds odd to mention but you need to help your tank establish itself and livestock will help with that. Since your tank is so small just keep up on 1-2g per week with good quality water that you are sure is good quality. Test the TDS of your water source, don't trust the store. I would stay away from any more SPS until your tank is more established.

 

Also, the source of the nutrients for algae is likely your dry rock. Certain ones can be very big sources of phosphate. Like I said, just keep up on routine maintenance and let the tank settle in.

[Newstead]

Sounds like you are working really hard to do things right, but I think your corals are losing color because no food is going in. They do need some dissolved nutrients, and other than phosphate feeding your algae, I wonder if no food or nutrients has also caused the loss of at least some of your good bacteria.

 

I brought in some type of gha and bryopsis on a frag in my 29. Just a few spots but annoying. I added an emerald crab and although he is growing so fast I am afraid we will wake up one morning to him hanging off our roof like King Kong, he has completely rid the tank if all gha and bryopsis. He hangs out in the red graciliara pigging out now, but cruises the tank each morning and if there is a speck of algae, it is history. I now feed him a couple of mysis and one algae wafer a day by forceps to make sure he doesn't decide that Jimi the Mandarin looks tasty.

[TFish77]

Sounds like you are working really hard to do things right, but I think your corals are losing color because no food is going in. They do need some dissolved nutrients, and other than phosphate feeding your algae, I wonder if no food or nutrients has also caused the loss of at least some of your good bacteria.

 

I brought in some type of gha and bryopsis on a frag in my 29. Just a few spots but annoying. I added an emerald crab and although he is growing so fast I am afraid we will wake up one morning to him hanging off our roof like King Kong, he has completely rid the tank if all gha and bryopsis. He hangs out in the red graciliara pigging out now, but cruises the tank each morning and if there is a speck of algae, it is history. I now feed him a couple of mysis and one algae wafer a day by forceps to make sure he doesn't decide that Jimi the Mandarin looks tasty.

 

+1 for this. All corals need food including SPS. I would recommend getting some live nitrifying bacteria (Fritz 9 is good), maybe some live rock, a fish, and a few crabs and snails to help balance out the ecosystem. Give it time to get established and everything will balance itself out and stay that way with regular maintenance. I wish you luck!

[Clown79]

If treating rocks with peroxide, those rocks should have been rinsed prior to being put back into the tank.

 

A snail causing an ammonia spike is odd, it shouldn't do that if the tank went through a proper cycle.

 

Your rocks being so white make me wonder. Many use dry reef rock but within a few mnths, the rocks have some colour on them.

 

Algae is normal not only in the ocean but in our tanks. The rocks could be leaching nutrients, that happens often.

 

In a new tank, you will have many diffrent algaes pop up. No tank should be completely sterile, it simply is unhealthy for the corals. Corals need some nutrients, having some livestock like snails and a small fish would actually benefit your tank.

 

Feeding your corals is very important as well.

 

Phosguard used in large quantities and too often may be stripping your tank of nutrients, causing issues with your sps.